on thursday, 18 july, join us for the panel discussion, decolonizing art practices organized and moderated by dallas contemporary’s visitor services team member, ryan semegran alongside their peers jesus daniel and adrian omar. this panel discussion is inspired by dallas contemporary’s current exhibition patrick martinez: histories and martinez’s efforts to decolonize his own practice and hear how young artists are attempting the same.
about the moderator:
ryan semegran (b. 2000 austin, tx) is a multidisciplinary performance artist and sculptor based in dallas, texas. they are currently working to receive their bfa in sculpture from the university of north texas in denton, tx. semegran’s work focuses on themes of identity, religious guilt, and community through immersive installation based performances. they are very interested in the idea of the body as a medium and has performed for spaces such as the arts fort worth, the other art fair dallas, and satellite art show nyc. semegran has been working as a visitor services member and docent for the dallas contemporary since 2021, they have worked 15+ shows in the last three years
about the panelist:
jesus daniel lopez, a multimedia artist from hidalgo, tx, now based in dallas, tx, has always admired photography and visual media. drawing inspiration from fashion magazines, internet content, and pop culture, he created a form of escapism through his art. as the director of photography for glaze zine in austin, tx, lopez has participated in multiple group exhibitions, including his first solo exhibition at 500x gallery in dallas and a recent show in new york with :iiddr. his work, primarily portraits, combines digital software with experimental printmaking techniques, exploring themes of identity, hispanic culture, queerness, and the human psyche.
adrian omar (b. 2001 wise county, tx) is an multi media artist primarily working in photography whose pieces blend portraiture, archiving practices, installation, with digital collage and manipulation. their interests include questions of materiality, memory, representation and the indexical properties of photography. omar received a bfa with a concentration in photography at the university of north texas in 2023. since then omar has stayed within the dallas-fort worth area, showing works at arts fort worth, latino cultural center of dallas, and 500x gallery.
